It's the End of the World as We Know It
Prologue
December 2001
Looking at himself in the mirror, B.A. ran a hand over the top of his head. Fifty. He was still adjusting to the thought of being that old. It was all a mental thing though, he knew that. He was still in better health and condition than a lot of folks that were a lot younger.
"Going to hog the mirror all day, old buddy?"
"Watch who you're calling old, Face. You're older than I am."
"By nine months. Not exactly a big deal, B.A. Any way, come on down before Hannibal and Murdock make Momma smack them."
"What are they doing now?"
"Well, Hannibal's trying to add enough brandy to the fruit cake that it might spontaneously combust at any minute and if Murdock add any more ornaments to the tree, the branches are going to start snapping from the sheer weight of them."
"Fools are gonna make Momma miss the days when we were always on the road and she got some peace every now and again."
"You know that's not about to happen. This is our fifth Christmas together since the pardon and I think she still feels like she's making up for lost time."
"She is. We all are. Hell, Faceman, think about it. Me and you? We spent about half of our lives on the run. Been what now? Over thirty years since we all first met? And what do we have to show for it?"
"Each other, big guy."
Both Face and B.A. jumped at the sound of the voice behind them. The pilot was not far from hitting 59, but he could still manage to move as quietly as a big cat when he felt like it.
"Don't sneak up on us like that!"
The grin on Murdock's face was huge as he teased back.
"I don't sneak. You guys just need to adjust your hearing aids."
Face groaned. He knew he'd been asking for it - ever since Murdock had passed the 5-0 mark, Face had made age jokes at his buddy's expense. Murdock was repaying each and every one of those jokes with interest now that the entire team was past that milestone. The only way to avoid the ribbing was to stay near Hannibal. At sixty-five, Hannibal found jokes on aging to be in questionable taste.
"Come on! Hannibal's mixed the punch."
"We shoulda got down there sooner. DId he already spike it?"
"Well - I don't think so. I mean, he put alcohol in it, but I think he forgot to put in the punch. So, technically, can you really spike alcohol?"
B.A. snorted at that.
"If there's a way to do it, Hannibal knows it. Come on, Face."
Murdock bounded down the stairs in a way that made Face jealous. Downstairs, he could already hear Hannibal saying something. Probably to Murdock from the tone. B.A. noticed Face's expression and outright laughed at his long time teammate and friend.
"Karma's done come back and bit you in the behind, Faceman. You kept teasin' Murdock about being an old man and you move like you're the older one now."
"You don't have to rub it in, B.A. You aren't exactly light on your feet these days either."
"He never was light. On or off his feet."
Hannibal was at the foot of the stairs, giving an amused look to the two youngest of the team.
"We have a job, men."
"On Christmas?"
"Nope. Between Christmas and New Year's Day. Might even be able to take care of it so that we have time to catch the ball dropping in Times Square."
B.A. froze on the stairs as he caught sight of Murdock staring straight at him. The pilot was still wearing the grin, but it no longer extended to his eyes. A light nudge to Face completed the body language between the three teammates. It was a language that didn't include their leader. It was a language they had developed because of him.
Like B.A., Face immediately recognized the look in Murdock's eyes. Hannibal had just accepted a job that Murdock had bad vibes about - a job that he hadn't known about a couple of minutes ago.
In their thirty plus years together, there were some things that B.A. had come to accept about his teammates without question. One - Hannibal on the jazz was one dangerous SOB. Two - Face could charm the pants off the President if he really wanted to. Three - Murdock didn't get bad vibes without a reason.